Every fall somebody tells us they are leaving the leaves down because leaves are natural and the lawn will use them. Half of that is true. Shredded into a bed, leaves are one of the best things you can put on soil. Left whole on top of turf, they do something different.
A layer of wet leaves is a lid. It holds moisture against the crown of the grass, it blocks the light the lawn needs in the one season it is actually storing energy, and it keeps the surface from drying between rains. Grass under that lid goes into winter soft and thin, and in a mild Richmond February it comes out with matted patches and disease pressure that were not there in September.
The heavy drop in this part of Virginia usually runs from the middle of October into the first week of November. The yards that come out clean in spring get touched twice inside that window, not once at the end. Waiting two more weekends is what turns a cleanup into a repair.
The first light drop does not need a cleanup. Run the mower over it with the deck high and let it shred in place, and it feeds the soil. If you can still see grass through the leaves, mulch-mow them. Once you cannot, they have to come off.
Leaf removal is a separate scope and it is included in our annual maintenance contracts. If you are not on one, we quote the cleanup by itself and there is no obligation attached to the estimate. Either way the walkthrough is free.
Fall cleanup routes get built in September. We start scheduling mid-month and the calendar is first come. Booking early is what buys the second pass.
We look at the canopy over the property, not just the lawn. The tree count and the species decide how many passes it needs.
Around the third week of October on most properties. This is the one people skip, and it is the one that keeps the lid off the turf.
Early November, once the canopy is down. Turf, beds, hardscape and drains, then the debris leaves.
The lawn goes under with light on it. That is the whole point, and you see the result in March, not in November.
The heavy drop here usually runs from the middle of October into the first week of November. The first light drop does not need a cleanup at all. If you can still see grass through the leaves, mulch-mow them and let them feed the soil. Once you cannot see grass, they have to come off.
Half of that is true. Shredded into a bed, leaves are one of the best things you can put on soil. Left whole on top of turf they are a lid. They hold moisture against the crown, block the light the lawn needs in the one season it is storing energy, and stop the surface drying between rains. Grass under that lid goes into winter soft and thin, and comes out of a mild Richmond February with matted patches and disease pressure that were not there in September.
The yards that come out clean in spring get touched twice inside the drop window, not once at the end. Waiting two more weekends is what turns a cleanup into a repair.
Yes. Leaf removal is a separate scope and it is included in our annual maintenance contracts. If you are not on a contract we quote the cleanup on its own.
Fall cleanup routes get built in September and we start scheduling them mid-month. The calendar is first come. Booking early is the whole difference between two passes and one.
Whole leaves come off the grass. Shredded leaves stay in the beds, because there they are doing the job people think they are doing on the lawn.
The cheapest quote is always one visit after everything is down. That is the visit that leaves the turf under a lid for six weeks first.
Debris stacked at the property edge is not removal. It rots against the trunk flare and it comes back into the beds in the spring.
A surface drain full of leaf mat in November is standing water in March. Clearing outlets is part of the visit, not an add-on.
Whole leaves come off the grass and shredded material stays in the beds. Stripping the beds too costs you the free mulch.
Heavy equipment on saturated turf in late fall leaves ruts that need repair in April. Timing the visits is most of the craft.
Routes get built in September. By the third week of October the calendar decides what is possible, not the budget.
Tell us what you are trying to do. We will walk the property and put a written number on it.